A 35-year-old diagnosed with skin cancer has issued a heartbreaking plea asking others to never use sun beds and always use sun cream when outside.
Kellie Wheeler was diagnosed with stage 4 advanced melanoma in November 2015, when tests flagged up numerous tumours across her body including her left and right lung, pancreas, kidney, breast and adrenal gland.
The mum-of-three, who was first diagnosed with skin cancer back in 2010, said her situation is now "a living hell" and has urged friends and family on Facebook to research melanoma and always protect their skin.
"It’s a matter of life and death," she said.
Kellie Wheeler and her husband Dean
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK with around 13,000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed each year.
Wheeler was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2010 when she spotted an unusual looking mole on her left leg. After getting it checked out, she had surgery to remove the mole and was given the all clear.
In September 2015, she started getting pains in her chest and, after undergoing tests, doctors revealed that the cancer had returned and had spread across her body.
Wheeler is now in hospital undergoing immunotherapy, - is a type of cancer treatment designed to boost the body's natural defences to fight the cancer - but she is incredibly weak and is confined to a wheelchair.
She penned a heartbreaking Facebook post to her friends and family.
"I’m not brave or strong or dealing with any of it. I’m absolutely petrified, heartbroken, frightened. You name it, I’m feeling it... The fear of leaving my beautiful children, husband, family, friends and life is something I can’t cope with," she wrote, according to the Birmingham Mail.
"But I just have to tell you all how eternally grateful I am for the love and support and I hope this makes everyone live their lives to the fullest because none of us know what’s in store in the precious time we are given.
"P.S. Please research melanoma, please don’t use sunbeds and please protect yourselves and your children from the sun, it’s a matter of life and death."
Friends of the family are now trying to raise money for Wheeler's husband Dean, 48, and their three children Taylor, 17, Louie, 13, and Lexi, 6.
So far they have raised more than £6,000 through a GoFundMe page.
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Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that can spread to other organs in the body. The most common symptom is the appearance of a new mole or a change in an existing mole.
According to the NHS, melanomas often have an irregular shape and more than one colour. They may also be larger than normal moles and can sometimes be itchy or bleed.
This particular type of skin cancer occurs when skin cells begin to develop abnormally. It is thought that exposure to UV light is partially responsible for this.
People with lots of moles or freckles, pale skin that burns easily, red or blonde hair and a family history of melanoma are most at risk.
If you are concerned about a new or unusual-looking mole, please book an appointment to see your GP.
